The can you set out by the curb every week may not seem so big. But when you multiply it by the number of people and businesses in the world, the amount of garbage humans produce is truly mindboggling. The harm caused by waste, both in terms of upstream resource extraction and downstream pollution, is so great that the United […]
The site of Project One. Photo credit: Ineos. By Anders Lorenzen Jim Ratcliffe, the UK’s richest man and the founder and CEO of Ineos, the petrochemical giant, who perversely pays little UK tax as he resides in the tax haven of Monaco, has won UK government backing from a giant fossil fuel project which campaigners have labelled as climate wrecking. […]
Each year between 1.8-3.36 billion contacts are flushed down the drain. You might not think that something so small could be a problem, but those contacts become microplastics that contaminate our water. Don’t contribute to plastic pollution, always dispose of your contacts properly. You can recycle your contacts through recycling programs. Print or share We Earthling posters to inspire others […]
Our planet – our home – is overwhelmed with plastic pollution; it’s everywhere: from the highest mountains to the deepest ocean trenches, in our food, and in our bodies. Most of us are aware that plastic pollution is awash in our ocean and killing its life. A lot don’t fully understand how much it’s also harming human health. Plastic production, […]
Thanks to famous sites like Love Canal, everybody knows that a Superfund site is seriously polluted. But most polluted areas are not famous – there are more than 1300 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List, and many of them have been waiting for 40 years without much action. Chances are you live close to at least one heavily polluted […]
Other materials may cost more money than clean water, but no resource is more precious than the fresh water that we literally flush down the drain. Most Americans can turn on the tap and expect clean, drinkable water to come out. Our dirty water disappears down the drain and we don’t really think about where it goes. But we should […]
They light up the sky beautifully, those bright and bold fireworks. But they don’t come without environmental hazards, no matter what time of year they blast off. The composition of fireworks creates highly toxic gases when they are lit. And those pollutants can poison not only the air but water and soil, threatening human and animal life. Fireworks are pretty, […]
Owning a car is more expensive than you think. Research has shown that people underestimate how much money they spend on cars and driving. It also shows that policymakers underestimate the social costs of car culture. We Americans love our cars. But if we really understood the full cost of private car ownership, we might be more willing to consider […]
Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and last about six times longer, but it’s no secret that CFLs contain a small amount of mercury (about 4 milligrams per bulb on average). Like any glass product, CFLs tend to break occasionally, causing many homeowners to worry about potential mercury exposure and adverse health effects. […]
Today’s inspiration is a proverb attributed to the Cree, a Native American tribe from what is now Canada: “Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.” Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every […]